﻿Clean Out the Fridge—Quick!

If you’ve been putting off cleaning the refrigerator, it probably has a lot to do with how long you think it will take. Opening it and seeing food and condiment containers everywhere can certainly leave you thinking it will be a serious time commitment. The good news is: it’s not!

The bad news is: this means you can clean out your refrigerator. Don’t worry, with a couple of tips, you can clean your fridge and still have time to do more housekeeping—or hire a maid service to do it for you.

Five Steps to a Clean Fridge

1. Take out the trash—and everything else. Get in front of the refrigerator with a garbage bag and start throwing away anything you aren’t going to use. For the things you will use, put them on a nearby table or counter so your fridge is completely empty when you’re done. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.

2. Spray the inside of the fridge with vinegar and walk away. You can use any cleaner you like as long as it’s safe around food, but vinegar is all natural and can clean practically anything. Spray it and walk away for three minutes.

3. Wipe down the inside, top to bottom. Unless your refrigerator has completely taken on a life of your own, this won’t be as bad as you might think. The vinegar breaks down the yucky stuff that might have spilled or stuck to the shelves. A good wipe down and maybe a random scrub or two should be all you need. This will take 3-5 minutes.

4. Put the items you decided to keep back in. As you put things back in, try to put them in groups. Condiments here, cheese and dairy there, drinks on the right, etc. Keep in mind that the refrigerator is usually the coldest at the bottom and the warmest in the door. This takes 3 minutes, tops.

5. Spray off the outside and wipe it down. A quick wipe down should be enough for the exterior of your fridge unless it’s exceptionally dirty. Remember the sides, though! Time? 2 minutes.